Pipelines are used for transporting water, petroleum products, natural gas, and other utilities, such as electrical, telecommunications, fiber optics and other similar utilities. There exists a huge network of piping systems used in every country all over the world. In many cases, pipelines are buried underground and may include markers, indicators, valves or other aspects that need to be accessed, monitored or treated from above ground.
Some buried pipelines (e.g., pipelines formed from metallic or electrically conductive materials) or other structures are exposed to an electrochemical corrosion process underground. During this process, the pipeline becomes an electrode and the soil becomes an electrolyte such that an electrolytic cell is formed causing corrosion of the buried or underground pipeline structure. If this corrosion is not mitigated, dangerous and expensive damage can result.
There are several corrosion control techniques used on underground pipelines, including, for example, cathodic protection. A cathodic protection system may be used to measure the effectiveness of cathodic protection, and/or protect personnel from accidental contact with electrical terminals of test leads. In a typical cathodic protection system, a cathodic protection test station is used to protect the electrical leads and provide an indication to personnel where the system is located underground. A typical test station has top portion at or near the top surface of the ground, a cylindrical plastic reference tube extending downwardly though the ground (e.g., soil) to a bottom portion that is positioned underground near the protected structure, such as a pipe. The bottom portion may be electrically coupled to the protected structure, and the test station may also be electrically coupled to (and potentially include) a sacrificial metal that is more easily corroded than the protected structure to act as an anode during the electrochemical corrosion process (so as to make the protected structure a cathode to protect it from corrosion).
Other pipelines include, for example, valves, such as a water or gas valve, positioned in line with a water or gas line (e.g., a main line). In this situation, a valve box may be used to protect the water or gas valve and provide an indication of and/or access thereto to personnel above ground of the location of the valve or other structure. A typical valve box 300, as illustrated in FIG. 4, has a base or bottom portion 220 that is positioned (e.g., centered) over or proximate to the operating nut of the valve (or other structure) within the ground, a top portion 210 with cover positioned flush or slightly below with the finished grade of the ground, and one or more stem portions 230, 240 extending between the top and bottom portions 210, 220. The valve box 300 is typically hollow, and the top portion 210 may include a cap or other removable top as shown in FIG. 4, so as to provide access through the valve box to the underground structure.
During installation, the top portion 210 of such a valve box 300 is adjusted for elevation while the base or bottom portion 220 is centered over the pipe or other structure (e.g. over an operating nut and/or valve, for example). Proper alignment and height or length of, for example, a valve box 300 must be maintained. With both valve boxes and test stations, the distance between the top 210 and bottom 220 portions are sometimes adjustable by, for example, the use of rigid fixed length extension or stem pieces coupled in an adjustable arrangement. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 a typical valve box 300 may include a first stem portion 230 that extends from the top portion 210, and a second stem portion 240 that extends from the bottom portion 220. As shown in FIG. 4, the first stem portion 230 and the top portion 210 may be integral or of one-piece construction or fixedly coupled together, and the second stem portion 240 and the bottom portion 220 may be integral or of one-piece construction or fixedly coupled together. The adjustable arrangement of the valve box 300 may be, for example, provided by a screw or slip adjustment configuration or mechanism between the first and second stem portions 230, 240 where one stem is telescopically received by the other stem such that the overall distance between the top 210 and bottom 220 portions is altered by altering the physical relationship (e.g., rotational/angular and/or axial relationship) between the first and second stem portions 230, 240. In another embodiment, the first and second stem portions 230, 240 may be threadably coupled. However, the box 300 may include any other adjustable coupling mechanisms or configurations that allow the total height/length of the first and second portions 230, 240 to be adjusted or changed.
During current installation of typical underground utility boxes, the distance between the top 210 and bottom 220 portions thereof is typically adjusted while at least one portion of the box 300 is installed in the ground. For example, the bottom or base portion 220 of a box 300 is typically translated into the ground and set over the valve/valve nut or other underground structure as a first step of installation. With the bottom portion 220 over or proximate to the underground structure, an installer typically fits or coupled the first and second stem portions 230, 240 together, while, at the same time, adjusting the stem portions 230, 240 to arrive at the desired distance between the top 210 and bottom 220 portions. This process is a cumbersome task, especially considering the size and weight (e.g., cast iron components) of some boxes 300. For example, relatively large underground utility boxes may include twenty-pound casting components or portions (or as a whole) that may take several attempts at fitting/adjusting to achieve the correct height/length of the box.
Over time, underground utility boxes, such as but not limited to valve boxes, test stations, curb boxes and other devices or applications that use adjustably-coupled stem portions, tend to slip, adjust or sink further into the ground than as compared to when originally installed, such as due to temperature fluctuations, ground settling, road variation, vibrations, or other circumstances. Such events typically occur over time, but may occur during initial installation. The slipping or sinking of an underground utility box into the ground can cause pot holes or depressions in the top surface of the ground—which occurs often on busy highways or roads. Further, an existing underground utility box that requires replacement (e.g., due to damage or an inability to be sufficiently adjusted (e.g., fails to include enough height/length travel or adjustability)) to prevent and/or address a depression at finished grade caused by sinking of at least the top portion 210 thereof, must be removed and replaced with a new underground utility box assembly, which could be a costly procedure.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the disclosure, Applicant in no way disclaims these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed disclosure may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was, at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.